Friction-buffer



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FRICTION BUFFER. No. 267,727. Patented Nov. 21. 1882.

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PATENT FFIQE.

THOMAS SHAW, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

FRICTION-BUFFER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 267,727, dated November 21, 1882.

Application filed August 24,1882. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS SHAW, of the city and county of Philadelphia,Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Friction- Brake Buffer for Arresting Motion of Cars, Engines, 850.; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

Myinvention consists in providing a sliding brake-shoe upon any suitable rails in.line of the track, arranged as hereinafter described.

The object of the invention is to absorb the force of moving trains at railroad terminals to prevent destruction to cars and other property.

In order to enable others to use and prac' tice my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

On'reference to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, Figure 1 represents alongitudinal vertical section through center of the shoe and upon the rail; and Fig. 2 represents an end view in direction of arrow to, with part of front removed to show end view of spring f.

Similar letters refer to similar parts.

a is an ordinary T-rail, on which a cast-iron or metal shoe, e,is caused to slide. The bottom part of the shoe 1) is of the configuration shown at Fig. 2, to cause it to fit close to and clasp the under side of the rail. A metal frictionplate, h, is placed upon the top of the rail or, and strong springs f are placed above and caused to press upon friction-plate h by screws d. Said springs fare provided with projecting rivet-heads that enter center of bolts (Z and keep said springs in their place. The shoe is cast with the space shown in Fig. 2 to permit the entrance of the rail to and the springs fand the friction-plate h. The end 9 is cast-open for the insertion of springsf, and closed by metal plate 9, bolted in place by ordinary bolts. The bolts dare made of such length as will give any predetermined pressure upon the said springs f, to cause any predetermined load upon the friction-plate h, with its corresponding friction upon the under side.

cow-catcher of a locomotive, in which event the rail a is secured in the'center of the track. When this same shoe is used to catch upon the wheels of the cars a separate casting (of concave configuration adapted to the shapeof the wheel) is bolted to the shield c, all to operate as hereinafter described.

The shoe is operated in this wise: After being secured to the rail in the manner afore described, the springs are pressed down by screws cl by turning said screws by ordinary wrench until any predetermined pressure of one or more tons is exerted upon the same, according to the desire of the operator, when the shoe will slide upon the rail whenever said force is overcome by an engine or car wheel pressing upon the shield c, overcomes the induced frictional resistance, and while sliding opposes the moving force with its full predetermined power until the momentum is overcome, causing the motion to be arrested in a gradual and cushion-like manner without destructive effect, after which the shoe has its friction reduced to the minimum by unscrewing the screws 61 and taking the load off the springs, when the shoe is replaced in its former position, ready to be operated as afore described.

When the shoe is arranged for the cow-catcher of a locomotive the rail on which the shoe clasps is placed in the center of the. ordinary track and firmly bolted and spiked to the sleepers. 7

When used for contact with car-Wheels a shoe of the configuration ofthe wheel, as before described, is bolted to the shield c, in which event two shoes are used, one on each track, and both set by spring-pressure, as afore described. striking the shoes causes the shoes to slide as soon as the frictional resistance is overcome, opposed by the friction until the momentum of the-car be overcome. A moving train that would strike a one-hundred-ton blow on an ordinary bumper would be reduced to one and a half ton resistance on this shoe for ten feet of stroke, or three-quarter ton resistance for twenty-feet stroke, which would be without any destructive etfcct,while the one-hundredton blow would break the bumper and the platform of the cars, showing the advantage of this method ofinducing frictional resistance The wheels of any moving car 7 outside and separate from the car, engine, or train.

It will be observed that these shoes can be variously fashioned to produce the same result without having it the exact configuration shown, and thatthe same result can be brought about by holding the shoe stationary and moving the rail, using the rail as a ram of resistancesliding when resisted, 850. I therefore do not wish to confine myself to the exact configuration shown.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The combination, with a rail or equivalent device, of a friction-brake shoe located outside I 5 and separate from the ear, said shoe being adapted to slide upon the rail, resisting the movement of a car or engine, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

THOMAS SHAW.

Witnesses WM. GARWOOD, SAML. B. S. EARTH. 

